Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1887-05-27

The Presidents mail, says u w ashiuk'
ton correspondent Of the New York
Herald, contains an average Of from 100
to $50 letters day from persons whose
claims for pension are pending before
the department. These people address
the Chief Executive in the belief, prob
ably, that the Pension Office is next
door to the White House and that theirs
is the only letter he may have received
in a week.
About one-half Of these letters are
sent to Mrs. Cleveland. The writer's in
such cases are usually the wives or
daughters of the petitioners. Some OF
them bestow upon Mrs. Cleveland such
titles as "Her Majesty, ""Empress" and
other appellations Of royalty. There
are few OF the letters that do not con-
tain some touches OF human nature.
They are evidently written In the sim
cere belief that Mrs. Cleveland will as
sist them il her sympathies can be
aEOustu. w ilh tuts opgcSs hu 'NW
great mass of detail is set forth in the
communication, which, together with
the obscure chirography and bad SPELL
ing, make It's understanding matter Of
no inconsiderable time anl labor.
Ii may be said In this connection that
neither the President nor Mrs. Cleve.
land is even aware Of the existence Of
these letters. They are opened BY an
unromantic and uusentimental clerk at
the Executive Mansion, from whose
hands they fall into the waste basket
and are never heard Of again.
The women who address Mrs. Cleve-
lard furnish her with suggestions as to
the better method Of presenting their
claim TO the President. One Of the
plans which n perusal OF the letters
show that all women hold In common 10
for her to wait until Mr.. Cleveland has
had his supper and then, when he Is en-.
joying quiet smoke In the parlor bring
the matter 10 his attention. Many OF
them tell her that this is the hour OF the
day when a man Is most amenable To
argument and that they (the writcrs)
prefer this as the safest time for pre-
senting their own requests.
The applicants for pensions who write
TO the President are, as has been said,
old soldiers, who write In more vigo-
rous style than their hclpmates aud
their language Is sometimes ofso robust
nature that II frequently provokes a
smile. For example, an Illinois man
no addresses the President In a letter,
says:
"Tae pension officials tell me to get
corroborative evidence from some Of
my comrades. i want to say to you
that lisa Of n hard matter TO get ev-
idence from men who go Into an action
and never come out again" and then he
continues by saying that his company
went into the Wilderness n hupdred
strong, aud at the end Of the seven days
fight there were but nine Of the number
who were left to tell the tale.
Sometimes the letters are written by
children, who begin IN this fashion:
"DEAR Mr.. PREsIDEST-I am little
girl only ten years OF age. Ny papa
does not know am writing this letter.
II he did lie would not permit IT,"
Then follows pathetic tale Of want
aud misery, touching enough 10 It's sim.
pie style of treatment, but rendered
doubly 70 by the fact Of the writer's
youth and innocence.
Several months ago one Of these touch
ing missiyes chanced to reach the Pres
ident's eye. Its simple pleading touched
a sympathetic chord In the Presidents
heart. The little miss legged the rcten-
ton Of her father on the Board OF Med
ical Examiners In New England town
In which their home was located. She
said he was very old and dying Of nm In
durable disease. The position paid him
a salary of about 81 200 year, and In
view of the fact that he could no longer
practice his profession the foregoing
sum was their only source Of income.
The letter concluded naiyely in these
words:
"Pspa must not know about this. IL
must be n secret between you and me.
II you decide to keep him mark an X on
the back Of the enclosed postal card and
then will know that you are going TO
grant my WISH"
The President sent the letter and en-.
closure TO Commissioner Of Pensions
Black, with this endorsement:
"If there are no charges against the
examiner in question you will oblige
me by retaining him In bis present po-
sition."
General Black Investigated the mat
ter, and found that the examiner was
not an old man, but, on the contrary,
Iusty young fellow scarcely thirty
years Of age, and dat % far from hsv.
ing "a little gifi csly ten years Of sge,"
he was not even married. ~ -.
The telegraph after this eouIdn's carry
bis dismissal quick enoogh 10 him, and
since that time letters from IIssis girls
who write without their psps's know.
ledge are incontinently destroyed.
Appearances arc very deceivibg. A